If you need kindness lessons for middle school or upper elementary, this is an excellent place to start. This lesson shows how to teach kindness to students by showing them the power their words have. After reading a short informational passage that describes two fascinating experiments, students will realize their words can hurt or nurture others. An experiment conducted by an elementary teacher in Texas and another by Dr. Masaru Emoto, scientist and author of The Hidden Messages in Water, show the power our words have to affect plants, water, and people. Students also learn how to identify central idea and write a summary.
 
Teacher’s Guide
The Teacher’s Guide contains everything needed to teach the lesson, including a mini lesson for identifying central idea and supporting details. Worksheets include identifying main idea and details, practice questions for comprehension, and vocabulary practice. The guide includes a generic graphic organizer that walks students through differentiating between “essential details” and “nice-to-know details” to write a concise summary. The graphic organizer can be used with any informational passage for future lessons.
 
Extension Activities
Extension Activities give students opportunities to respond to the passage in different learning modalities: science experiments, class “kind words” challenge, or art.
 
Included in this Package
The 21-page PDF is ready to print 2-sided in color on regular copy paper. Copies of the student worksheets and the story can be made separately in black-and-white. The guide includes the following:
 
Teacher’s Guide
Table of Contents
Vocabulary Worksheet
Comprehension Worksheet
Answer Keys
Central Idea Graphic Organizer
“The Wonder of Wonderful Words” Informational Passage (507 words)